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Acidification of Nova Scotia lakes I: Response of diatom assemblages in the Halifax area

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Abstract

A comparison is made of diatom remains in surficial lake sediments collected in 1971 and 1980. Changes of similar magnitude towards more acid tolerant assemblages are observed in four lakes studied in detail despite widely differing aquatic environments. No attempt is made to reconstruct past chemistry, the significant point being that at the most fundamental level, local lacustrine biological systems are being stressed to the point of alteration. The pattern of that alteration with emphasis on ‘simplification’ is discussed with the suggestion that rates of acidification may be as important as net changes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nova Scotia Department of the Environment, P.O. Box 2107, B3J 3B7, Halifax, Nova Scotia

    Hague H. Vaughan & John K. Underwood

  2. Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

    J. Gordon Ogden III

Authors
  1. Hague H. Vaughan
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  2. John K. Underwood
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  3. J. Gordon Ogden III
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Vaughan, H.H., Underwood, J.K. & Ogden, J.G. Acidification of Nova Scotia lakes I: Response of diatom assemblages in the Halifax area. Water Air Soil Pollut 18, 353–361 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02419423

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02419423

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